


The Nutcracker

by annebenedicte



Category: Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 20:31:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17372786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annebenedicte/pseuds/annebenedicte
Summary: Christmas 1983 at the McKinneys. When Serena's godfather Henrik Hanssen intervenes, weird things happen ...for the soundtrack, of course :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U_gpW1J4LM





	1. Chapter 1

All the guests had come in their finest finery and were proceeding to guzzle down champagne and canapes as quickly as the two waiters hired for the occasion could put them out. The whole family was there – Dr. and Mrs McKinney, Adrienne McKinney’s spinster sister and the doctor’s two brothers and their family, and the children. Serena McKinney was the eldest of the lot and at eighteen thought herself much too grown-up to participate in the fun and games with her cousins. She was waiting eagerly for the dancing, though, after dinner. And she wasn’t quite grown-up enough not to want to know what the parcels waiting under the tree contained… Looking thoroughly bored, she managed to get close enough to get a look at the labels… One of them looked rather big, and she hoped it contained a new party dress. Hers was becoming quite out-of-date. Or maybe a denim jacket– either would be acceptable.

Mr Hanssen, her godfather came into the room empty-handed, and she wondered why – he was usually quite generous with her. She soon understood why, as he clapped his hands and a small troop of dancers in regional dress came in the room and gave a display of their skills. She understood, but she was nonetheless disappointed.  The band took over after the dancers, and both adults and children paired up and invaded the floor. At the end of the party, when nearly all the guests had gone and all the parcels been opened, Serena sulked. Neither the party dress nor the denim jacket had materialised. Instead, she had received a boring grey turtleneck and a heavy navy winter coat. Henrik Hanssen must have noticed her disappointment, for he went to fetch a parcel he must have left with his coat and presented it to her, while scolding her: “You don’t really deserved it, Miss – other little girls don’t have everything you have. I haven’t even seen you thank your parents.”

She threw herself in his arms: “I will – I will. Please can I have my present now?”

He handed her the box and she eagerly tore the wrapping paper. A wooden doll was laying in tissue paper. She took it out of the box and held him at arm’s length. One of her younger cousins spotted it and grabbed it: “Hey, cool, a robot! Where’s the remote?”

“There’s no remote, you idiot! It’s not a robot, it’s a doll. And it’s mine – give it back!”

“It’s not just a doll, dear – it’s a nutcracker,” intervened Hanssen while the boy ran across the room with it, Serena in hot pursuit. Even though she was too old for dolls and this one was rather ugly, except for the uniform of white trousers and gold-braided red jacket, it was hers! When she caught up with her cousin, she grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him.

“Here – take it! It’s stupid, anyway!” The boy threw the doll to her but it slipped to the ground and when Serena bent to pick it up, she could see it was broken.

“You – You twat!” She slapped her cousin with so much force that her handprint remained on his cheek long enough for the adults to see it when the guests came back into the room to say goodbye.

Her father retaliated by a sharp smack on her bottom, despite her outraged shrieks: “Serena Wendy McKinney! Go to your room immediately! And you can just leave that thing here! I don’t want to see you until tomorrow! And you can count yourself lucky that you’ve already had your presents, for otherwise you might just have found a piece of coal under that tree!”

Pouting, Serena laid the nutcracker on the floor again, gently. She could see its head was tilting sadly and its arm looked broken. Then she ran out of the room, not before sticking her tongue out.

She undressed and put on her nightie, and slipped into bed, as her bedroom was quite cold. She had, however, not intention of falling asleep just yet. It was not even midnight. Instead, she waited until she couldn’t hear anymore noise in the house before creeping downstairs again. She wanted to retrieve her toy before it could come to anymore harm. She couldn’t quite see what she could use it for, but if nothing else, she could always use it for its original purpose if she managed to fix it.

She was sweeping the room with her torch, trying to find the doll which had probably been pushed aside when suddenly she heard something rustling behind her. She turned around and there sat her little cousin’s two mice, eating the crumbs of cake which had fallen to the floor. She stifled a scream – “I’ll kill that little brat!” she muttered. Her cousin and his parents were staying at the house for Christmas, and she had been horrified to see him arrive with a cage and his two pets. She had told him that if she saw either Jerry 1 or Jerry 2, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill them, but now she was face to face with them, it was another story. She took a step back and began to shake, dropping her torch. She was thrown in pitch darkness. As she was trying to gather her wits, all the lights on the Christmas tree suddenly lit up and she saw not only the two white mice but an enormous grey rat who’d probably come from the basement to share in the feast. She was about to scream again when she saw a shadow move near the tree. Paralysed with fear, she retreated behind the sofa and peeped over it. A girl about her own age was in the living room, calmly picking the mice by the tail and putting them back in the cage which was lying on the floor. The rat, however, didn’t surrender as easily. When she tried to pick it up, he turned on her and bit her viciously on the arm, hanging on. From her hiding place, Serena watched opened-mouth and considered her options. Her eyes fell on an abandoned coffee cup, which she threw with all her mind towards the rat. The cup hit its target and it smashed on the floor. The rat scampered and the girl sat on the floor, cradling her right arm in her left. Serena hesitated before stepping out . Not only was a stranger in her living -room, but that stranger was wearing tight-fitting white leggings and a red tunic with gold brandeburgs. Her blonde hair were pulled back in a tight bun. That stranger was also bleeding.

“Who- who are you?”

“Come on, Serena- don’t you recognise me?”

“You …I…” Serena pinched herself: “Ouch!” No, she was definitely awake …or seemed to be.

“Let’s not bother with the details…Right now, I seem to be your Princess Charming fighting the big bad mice for you. Could you help me with my arm, though? Someone was a bit rough with me earlier, and we’ve got things to do. Also, that rat had strong teeth. If you could help me put a kind of sling on my arm, and maybe bandage the hand?”

“Yes …Yes …of course – Wait a sec.” Serena couldn’t quite believe she was being bossed around by a blonde nutcracker, but she decided to go along with it. There was an abandoned napkin on the dinner table and she dabbed at the girl’s wound, before knotting the napkin around her hand. Then she looked around and found a scarf, probably forgotten by one of the guests. She wrapped the girl’s arm as best as she could, looped it and fastened it round her neck, fighting the urge to run her hand through the tight bun and loosen it. The blonde smelled good – a woody, honeyed, chocolatey scent. Serena wanted to put her tongue out and lick her neck…

“Serena – we don’t have all night! It’s nearly midnight – we have to be on our way!”

“All right- all right! No need to get your knickers in a twist… Nutty?”

“You can call me Major for now. Later on, we’ll see. Let’s go!”

 


	2. Chapter 2

As the clock struck twelve, the room disappeared and Serena found herself in a Beetle car, on a snow-covered country road. She shivered and looked at her clothes – thankfully, she wasn’t in her night dress anymore, but the woollen tights, short white skating skirt and white polo-neck sweater couldn’t quite make up for the lack of heat in the car. She turned reproachful eyes towards the blonde in the driver’s seat, who did her best to control the wheel one-handed: “You couldn’t arrange for a car with a working heating system, could you, Major?”

The blonde glanced at her, biting her lips: “Sorry about that – and actually, that’s not our main problem right now…Seems we’re out of petrol as well…”

“Oh no you don’t! You’re joking! Listen… I don’t go kissing strangers in the middle of nowhere.”

The Major frowned: “I don’t understand. And I’m not a stranger – well, not exactly.”

“I don’t even know your name – if you even have a name.”

“Of course I have a name – it’s Berenice – Berenice Grizelda Wolfe.”

“That’s a mouthful…”

“And – you may not go on kissing strangers, but you’ve come with me, haven’t you, Serena Wendy McKinney?”

Serena blushed and grumbled something unintelligible.

Berenice thought aloud: “So …we might as well walk.”

“Walk?? We’re in the middle of nowhere, it’s the middle of the night…and walk to where, anyway?”

“To Candyland, of course -I know someone who’s got a tea room there – she can help us.”

“Help us do what?”

Berenice didn’t say anything – instead, she opened the car door and beckoned to Serena: “Come on – we’re walking.”  After a few miles, Serena began to tire and to feel really cold. Her pride wouldn’t let her complain, but her companion noticed and wrapped an arm around her. Immediately the brunette snuggled against her and it warmed her up a little. They walked on without speaking – each time one of them tried, their breath made white smoke… Finally, after what seemed like hours to Serena, but which was probably only one or two, a town appeared a little further, as the day was breaking.

“Not far now, Serena – you’ll soon be able to rest.” 

Almost frozen, Serena didn’t bother to answer. Berenice knocked at a blue door and after a few seconds they heard the sound of footsteps and the door opened. They were ushered in by a tall, rather stately raven-haired woman.

“Come in, come in – you must be freezing!”

The dark-haired woman ushered them in the back of the shop, which served as a kitchen. Two big ovens radiated heat and several trays of pastries already laid on the big table. Authoritatively, she motioned for them to sit down and put two mugs of cocoa before them. Then she turned to Berenice.

“What happened, Major?”

Berenice told her about the fight with the rats in Serena’s house.

“Let me see your hand.”

Berenice obeyed and the woman looked at the improvised bandage with distaste: “Hum – sloppy- who did that?”

“I did!”, protested Serena. “And I did the best I could under the circumstances.”

The dark-haired woman looked at her with a wry grin: “Well, let’s just hope you don’t intend to become a nurse…”

“Actually”, replied Serena huffily, “I don’t want to become a nurse – I’m going to medical school next year – I’m going to become a surgeon.”

“My, my – someone’s ambitious…We’ll see. Anyway, you managed to break the curse – well done you!”

“The curse?”

“I’ll explain later”, interjected Berenice. “Sugar – would you might?”

She held out her hand towards the woman who produced a phial of something she rubbed on the wound.

“Sugar?” asked Serena.

“Should be Sugar Plum, really – hippy parents and all that – but you can call me just Sugar.”

Serena rolled her eyes and bit into a pastry. Then she turned towards Berenice: “Well, Major – could you tell me what we’re doing here?”

Berenice blushed: “It’s a bit complicated. Do you mind if I don’t tell you just yet? Let’s enjoy ourselves for a while. Do you want to go and have a look at Sugar’s flowers?”

“Really – first the petrol trick, and now the etchings? You should work on your pick-up techniques, Major…”

Berenice grinned: “This is an honest suggestion.”

“Berenice – it’s December!”

“So what – Sugar has a conservatory in the tea room – loads of winter roses.”

And indeed the flowers were abundant and beautiful.  Serena said so. 

“Not as beautiful as you, Serena…”

Serena smirked: “Really? How corny is that?”

Berenice was looking at her intensely: “Serena … Could I kiss you?”

The brunette tilted her head and their lips met. Serena tasted honeycomb and chocolate, and her lips dipped eagerly into the kiss. This may be a dream, she thought, but quite a dream… The major broke the embrace all too soon: “We have to go – I have to take you back.”

“On foot?”

“Of course not – Sugar will have arranged something.”

When the two girls went back to the kitchen, Sugar was waiting for them. She handed Berenice some keys. She hugged the two girls and wished them a safe trip back. When they got out, Serena whistled: “Wow – nice ride!”

“Indeed – I knew I could count on Sugar!” replied Berenice as she held out her hand to help Serena on the gleaming black Harley. The return trip was much quicker than the first journey. The Harley stopped in front of Serena’s front porch, and Berenice helped Serena highlight from the machine. Then she gave her a gentle push towards the door and roared away.


	3. Chapter 3

Serena woke up when her mother came into the living-room.

“Serena! What on earth are you doing down here? And without a nightgown or slippers! You’ll catch your death of a cold!” And indeed Serena was feeling alternatively very cold and very hot.

“You’re shivering! I think you’ve got a fever – come, you need to go to bed!”

Serena spent Christmas day in bed, sweating and thrashing about – she couldn’t eat anything and even aspirin did nothing against the fever. Her parents both came to sit with her and listened to her babble deliriously about rats, sugar and majors. At the end of the afternoon, her father grew worried and decided he should ask the opinion of a colleague. He phoned Henrik Hanssen to tell him about his god-daughter’s condition. The consultant arrived an hour later and told his friend there was no need to worry – it was probably only a touch of flu. He told Serena’s parents he would sit with their daughter while they entertained the rest of the family.

Around midnight, the fever abated, and Serena appeared calmer. Her brow felt cooler, and when Hanssen handed her a bowl of soup she managed to take a few sips.

“Would you like me to tell you a story?” he asked.

“I’m not a little girl”, she protested feebly.

“No – of course you’re not – but everyone like stories…”

“Go on, then.” She felt too weak to protest any further.

And so he began: “Once upon a time, there were a king and a queen, who had a beautiful son. His name was Marcus, and as his parents were king and queen, he was Prince Marcus. Prince Marcus was a lovely little boy, and he grew into a handsome young man.

One day the king and the queen tried to banish all mice from their kingdom. They asked their servants to hunt them to death, with the help of their army of cats. This made the Mouse Queen very angry, and she decided she would take her revenge.  Therefore she put a curse on Prince Marcus, and transformed him into a nutcracker.

The king and the queen were frantic – they asked all the doctors in the kingdom to try and find a cure for their son. It took us a long time to find it…”

“Us?” In spite of herself, Serena had been drawn into the story.

“Yes, us.” Hanssen’s eyes darkened. “I was there – I was the court’s physician. No one else could think of any solution to the prince’s predicament. Meanwhile, the king got more and more angry, and threatened to have me killed if I didn’t find the cure. And finally… I found one. The prince would have be handed a Crackatook nut cracked by the teeth of a girl who had never bled nor worn high heels. Then the girl would have to take seven steps backwards without stumbling. The king was very happy with me at first – he announced that girl would be given to Prince Marcus as a bride. The king and queen took out advertisements in the newspapers, and even did television announcements. And they asked me – they commanded me to go and look for the nut. I searched and searched all over the world, but the nut couldn’t be found. Finally, after several years, I went back to the kingdom, empty-handed. I was going to throw myself on the king’s mercy, but I fully expected him to execute me. Therefore, before going back to court, I went to visit my cousin Sasha, and told him about my quest. Imagine my surprise when he produced a Crackatook nut. It turned out that the nut was a renowned delicacy and that Sasha, as a dedicated gourmet, had purchased a bag of it several years before. He had one left. I brought the nut to the king, and several young women attempted to crack it open without success. My own niece had come back to the kingdom at the time – she’d been studying abroad, and she decided she would try… I couldn’t believe my eyes when she succeeded! She handed the nut to Prince Marcus, and immediately he transformed back to a handsome young man. But…”

“But?” Serena was by then hanging on to his every word. Tears came into Hanssen’s eyes.

“She was just taking her last step back when the Mouse Queen popped up under her foot and made her trip. Immediately, my beautiful niece became a nutcracker herself.”

“Oh no!”

“Prince Marcus refused to marry her and of course the king didn’t want an ugly wooden doll for a daughter-in-law. He threw both of us out of the kingdom. I tried and tried to find a cure for her, and it finally came to me – she would have to fight and defeat the Mouse Queen’s progeny in battle, and find a woman who could love her as she was. And now you must sleep, dear.”

“But I’m not tired, Godfather – I want to know what happened next.”

But her eyes closed and soon she was asleep.

The next morning, her fever was completely gone, and so was her godfather. On her dressing table sat the wooden nutcracker. She looked at it in wonder  - what strange dreams she had had…and yet she couldn’t believe it had only been a dream – that kiss had felt so real…

During the next days, she sometimes found herself talking to the wooden doll – telling him about how she wanted to become a great surgeon… How maybe she would be able to help break the curse – and then she laughed at herself for believing in fairy tales.

With spring came a new invasion of mice – her cousin had long taken his two back home with him, but somehow mice popped up everywhere – even in her own bedroom. Big ones and small ones, grey-brown – Serena didn’t want to think they might be rats… When she found one of them in her bed one night, she screamed and instinctively made for the nutcracker, which she held tight in her arms. Suddenly, the doll felt warm in her hands and she heard the major’s voice speaking to her: “I just need a weapon and I can help you.”

Serena’s cousin had left a few toys behind, and Serena found a toy bayonet which she put in the nutcracker’s hands.

She must have fallen asleep again, for when she woke up, the nutcracker sat again on the dressing table. The tip of the bayonet was red, and no more rats ever came in the McKinney’s house.

A few days later, her parents announced they had invited her godfather and his niece for dinner. The young woman was apparently studying medicine and had enlisted in the army to get a scholarship. She was just back from a mission in Iraq. When Serena saw Hanssen’ niece, she gasped: “Berenice!”

The young blond woman in dress blue grinned: “Call me Bernie!”

“Serena – this is my niece, Berenice Wolfe.”

“Yeah – we’ve… We’ve met…” Serena blushed scarlet. She couldn’t take her eyes off the girl – she looked even more handsome in her navy blue uniform with red trimmings than she had in the red tunic. The blond hair was a little messier and the brown eyes twinklier, but this was undoubtedly her nutcracker. The voice, too, was unmistakable. Bernie came nearer Serena: “Would you show me round the garden before supper?”

“Yes …Yes, of course.”

As soon as the girls were outside, Bernie reached into her pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter: “Thanks! I was dying for a fag!”

She offered one to Serena, who grimaced: “No, thanks – I don’t like the smell.”

“Oh – all right then.”

Bernie was just lighting the cigarette when Serena put her hand on her hand: “When I say I don’t like the smell …I don’t much like the taste either.” Bernie looked at her, eyebrows raised and crushed the cigarette under her foot: “Really?”

“Really…”

Both girls moved together and it was impossible to know who initiated the kiss. When Serena’s mother yelled that supper was served, Bernie took a step back and grinned at Serena: “So …does that mean you’ll go out with me?”

 


End file.
